95bFM Stalking Response Guide debuts ahead of Anti-Stalking Legislation amendment
11 December 2025
Interview by Jasmine Gray, adapted by Sara Mckoy
With New Zealand’s anti-stalking legislation update set to come into effect next year, Auckland Women’s Centre Project Coordinator Leonie Morrie talks about their newly-released guide for stalking victims.
The Crimes Legislation (Stalking and Harassment) Amendment Act 2025 will take effect in Aotearoa from May 2026, after passing its third reading in Parliament on November 19.
The legislation amends existing judicial settings, in line with the advice of community sexual violence advocates, to expand the definition of stalking and treat stalking as a criminal offence.
In collaboration with a range of community groups including Thursdays in Black, Backbone Collective, SHINE and Women’s Refuge, the Auckland Women’s Centre has developed a general guide for victims through their campaign Aotearoa Free From Stalking.
The campaign’s Project Lead, Leonie Morris, told 95bFM’s The Wire that the guide offers crucial advice for how victims of stalking can engage with the police.
“For years, women have gone to the police with maybe family violence concerns, or sexual violence concerns, or maybe stalking concerns, and the police have minimised their fear and harm, and just said very unhelpful things like ‘try not to focus on it, I'm sure he'll calm down soon, and things will be back to normal,’ really minimising violence against women.
“So this is a huge issue for us, it always has been.”
In the wake of the investigation into the conduct of former Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming, as well as the police handling of sexual offence allegations, Morris says that adequate training of police will be paramount in addressing the issue of stalking and violence against women.
“There needs to be really thorough police training, and that needs to not only look at how to recognise stalking when it's being presented to you, but also the other matters of affirming the victim's experience and supporting her and believing her, that needs to be all part of the training…
“In the past, they've dismissed women's concerns just right off the bat, so they need to have a lot of discussion around that as part of their training.”
Morris also advocates for specialist stalking advocates working within the justice system to support the response to these crimes.
Especially as this new legislation comes into effect, she says that sexual violence experts could provide necessary assistance in dealing with an increase in stalking complaints.
“[Specialist advocates] can support the person that's been targeted with the stalking and help them to gather the evidence they might need to understand their legal rights and all the next steps and the best agencies to help them…
“Whereas if there isn't that kind of intermediary, it's going to take a long time for the police to do this work, and the police are already saying they're under-resourced.”
The Stalking Response Guide offers various legal advice and information about personal wellbeing for victims of stalking, which will be updated as next year’s legislative changes come into effect.
